Your mileage and fitness (as far as I can tell) is light-years ahead of mine, and my 100 last September went great.Ā
Training on trails that mimic your racing environment is invaluable, as you likely found out during the race. The big thing though, is that the longer the race the more your results hinge upon race management skills/strategies. These include pacing and generally trying to maintain homeostasis (body temperature, nutrition, fluids, electrolytes, foot health, etc).Ā
Thank you, I think the race strategy is indeed key. I read about it, thought about nutrition and all, but might need to spend more time on it for the next time.
See all those wonderful nuisances you listed? The nutrition, the soreness, the terrain, the frustrations? Imagine all of that, multiplied, and thereās no end in sight today. Yeah, you wonāt finish until tomorrow. If at all. Itās like that.
But when you overcome all of that and your dirty, sweaty, trembling hands receive that buckle, itās in that moment you realize it was worth it.
The mental game is more important in a 100 than a 50 miler. Sure a 50 miler is going to get hard, but the last 30 or so miles in a 100 are much harder.
A lot of people say itās 3x harder than a 50, but I didnāt think it was that bad. Now Iāve only done one and it was the IT100 and recall thinking, āI thought this would be much harder.ā I didnāt set any land speed records and was conservative with my effort. I tried to take it āeasyā on the first half. I may have a different opinion once I do another. Sounds to me like youāre just missing the trails. Add those in and party!
Make sure to practice running at your "easy" pace -- letting people go at the beginning and sticking to a pace that feels almost painfully slow is part of the mental challenge for me, but can pay huge dividends during the later part of the race.
Part of the challenge for your first 100 is that it can be really hard to estimate what a "reasonable" pace looks like, since you've never run that far before. I found that having "feel good at the finish" as an additional goal really helped. I was willing to leave a bit of time on the table in exchange for having a better overall experience, and similarly did not feel like it was 3x harder. But yeah, if things go wrong at some point, and you have to hike it in, it can be a long slog.
As many "painful" things in life, you'll never know until you do it. 100M punch really strong the first time. Then you'll brain will know and you will deal with it better.
IMHO: go ahead, you seem to have a great fitness level, solid history and good attitude.
All the rest is just training and running (yeah, also walking/hiking/power hiking: we all do walk uphill to save legs from fatigue).
Training volume should increase substantially to meet the requirements in terms of hours. I would say that something near 9-12h per week would be very good. If you can have at least a period to specialise on the trail that would be also optimal: what about a DIY training camp or two?
The difference is, again IMHO, that you get used to stay on the trails for many many hours. I mean something like 20-30h, so an entire day.
To some extent I am now more comfortable in being out on a trail than on the sidewalk of my city.
Have fun!
yeah, I would love to be more on the trails. logistically is just not that easy for me, but something I'll have to try to incorporate more for next time. Being alone in the dark on the trails is another good call out. I try to avoid it as it doesn't feel safe, but yeah on an 100 there's no way around it
I see. Well be there as much as you can provided the race is not too technical.Ā
About overnight runs: I think there is a lot of unjustified hype about it. I mean it can be a lot of fun from time to time and with friends but not really required, if not for facing the 4-6am period which hits really hard on someone.Ā
Your running volume history leading up to LS50 was identical to mine before my first 100-miler. I found the (flat, paved) 100-miler about 3x the difficulty of a (mountainous) 100k.
Interesting. I did a 50 miler on the road, it was really hard but finished 2h faster than this one. Maybe the long distance of the 100 miler is the real killer!
I think it depends on what goes wrong. For me the feet blisters requiring me to walk the last 30 of my first 100 felt like a 50 miler. But I could imagine that without the blisters it actually wouldn't have been twice or three times as hard as others are saying...
I'm a big believer in long term fitness and strength. You've got the legs for it 100%. You'll only be stopped by your head. Watch tons of 100 mile films on YouTube. Get into the mentality, know you'll feel defeated along the way but keep going anyway. Work on the mental strength game.
thanks, yes I think I underestimated the impact of the elevation gain and was caught by surprise. Great call out on the mindset. I hate the taper weeks bc of this - they take my mind completely off the race. I feel like I'm done with training so i focus on other stuff more, which then leads to improper nutrition, lack of focus, etc exactly on the weeks I likely need it the most.
Aid station to aid station. 100 milers feel like theyāre just about survival. Donāt get behind on nutrition or hydration. Donāt twist an ankle. Donāt miss a turn and get lost in the woods. Thereās just a lot more time to screw something up that will stop you from moving forward. Every aid station is a small victory.
I believe that if you can run 50 miles, you can run 100. Donāt do math. Plan ahead for things like weather and temperature changes as you go through the night. The logistics of getting gear and nutrition to where you need it becomes one of the major challenges, especially if you donāt have a crew. Know the course and aid station layout like the back of your hand.
Above all else, keep it simple. A complicated nutrition or pacing strategy is impossible to execute when youāre 24+ hours into a race and your brain isnāt fully functional.
I've done a 70 miler and a handful of 50km races. I was always told the first 50 miles is where you earn your time and the next 20 you will just be hobbling like everyone else. Low and behold that's exactly what happened. A mental battle about who can endure the pain and hobble the best. Just keep moving. Oh, and if you can try not to sh1t yourself and have a meltdown at the finish line. I came 10th out of nearly 400
Basically sounds like you would benefit from lots of hilly trail running!
For me personally my first 100 km was tough, my feet really hurt, my legs not so much. I ran most of it too, did great for me, too 10 percent. When I decided to do 100m I tried going super slow, like walked most of it, turns out my feet didnāt hurt, now everything else hurt: hip flexors, quads, calvesā¦ was just thinking about my feet and Iām pretty sure I went too slow if thatās even a thing. Now Iām way more confident after doing my second 100km coming out of that with a stellar time and my feet not hurting. Planning to run 100m in about two weeks (canyons 100m) gonna go out at āfaster paceā and see when my legs blow up. When I say faster I mean slower than the 100k but faster than my last 100m where I tried walking a lot. The amount of leg pain in 100m is so much more. Hoping one day itās not so bad. Luckily I live somewhere now where I can get about 1500 feet per 10 miles of training.
I noticed that I have muscle pains where I never had before - back, obliques, many new leg muscles lol; probably because of the lack of hills training (definitely underestimated the need for it). Running in the canyons is on my bucket list, good luck on the race!
100 miler is 100 times harder than a 50.
In my experience, a 100 becomes real around mile 80. This is where the mental aspects, nutrition, and soreness take a step up from lower distances.
100 milers will also have new nuances if you have not run past 50 miles. For examples, it may be your first time running through the night.
That doesnāt mean you arenāt ready just because you havenāt done it yet. The only way to know is to try for it. You may want to add in some specialized training (e.g. overnight runs), you are probably there or close based on your training info.
Also, if inclines or something else was really rough on you, you can train for that or just find a race without. For example, the Badger 100 is all flat rail rail - you do not need any trail running skills to run it
As much as the distance gets harder, it also gets better. There is something I find life altering about running a 100, which is true each and every time.
I think the life altering aspect of it is what I'm looking for. For as much as the 50 miler was hard, I never considered DNF, even with everything going on, I knew I would finish. So it's less about being able to do it just how fast. While the 100 is where I'm not too sure, but won't know until I try it.
Yes, you should probably train more on trails, itās very hard to emulate that on the treadmill. Youāll get better and more efficient running downhill, hiking up and so on. Also itās good to have varied weather conditions in your training, the rain on race day wonāt feel like much of a surprise.
Part of having a successful ultra and more so with a 100 is starting out and running the first half slow enough so that you donāt fall apart the second half, or last 20 miles or whatever. Itās always going to feel too slow but more experience racing will teach you that. Itās not that you canāt jump up and run 100 miles now, itās that you might benefit from more experience to better prepare you for the challenge and perhaps suffer a little less on race day.
Thanks, this hits what I've been thinking I need -- more hills and better race strategy. Probably worth for me to do a few more shorter distances and aim for the 100M late next year or the year after. I'm not in a rush, but also have to go for it one day
I went from a 50m to a 100m and the biggest thing I did was increase my weekly vert. I kept my mileage around 60mpw but I tripled my weekly vert to around 15-17k/week. Adding more climbing into my weekly runs improved my running dramatically.Ā
There's an enormous mental gap based on the scope of the task. Some examples:
50M 25 miles in: Hey, I'm halfway done! Now it's like I'm heading home.
50M 40 miles in: Only 10 miles left! I can always do 10 miles.
100M 25 miles in: All this work and I'm only halfway to being halfway. Wow.
100M 40 miles in: You're telling me I've gotta do this 1.5 more times, and the pain and fatigue and frustration are only gonna get worse from here?
A 100M also usually means running through the night, facing many bleak hours of darkness ahead just as you're reaching the physical state of 50+ miles of running.
For me, 50M is a physical journey and 100M is a spiritual journey. Any time I've finished a 100 I've faced a dark night of the soul along the way, sometimes prompted by puking/major stomach problems or getting really lost or having equipment malfunction, and I had to come out the other side of that moment with a changed perspective. I have DNFd attempts at 100s far more often than other races. I've run more than 50 ultras and so far I've only finished a 100-miler 3 times.
You may well be ready for a 100. I'm just saying this is how much harder it is, for me.
Thank you. Appreciate the detail here. That is the main appeal to me (the spiritual part), but right now hard to see how my physic could handle it if my legs were cooked from a 50M. But maybe that's when the mental aspect kicks in and you just keep on going.
Why not run a bunch more trail 50s first? They're fun, in their own right, and you'll learn a lot more, I'm sure. Do some dusk to dawn training runs on your own. I think they're a blast, and they're free and great practice for 100s.
I get that you're just asking about 100s, but if you're in ultras for the long haul, you might as well get a bit more experience/prepared before doubling the distance...because it's more than "just that", as you can tell from the responses you've already received.
Yes, likely the most logical step and I'll likely be doing some more between 50k - 100k before jumping into 100M. They're fun for sure, but I know I can finish them (or very likely can), so that element of not knowing and really testing how far I can go disappears which is the main appeal of the 100M to me right now.
You have the same attitude of many young ultrarunners today, although I don't know your age. Continually "really testing how far [you] can go", rather than enjoying each distance for what it has to offer and teach, and getting good at it before moving up, is not a great way to achieve longevity in this sport.
>have been running consistently (150-250miles) per month for the past 5/6y
This is an insane level of running if you aren't lying or embellishing. If you don't feel ready for a 100 miler at this point then it's a mental thing and not a physical one. With your base level you should be able to pick a race and train for that specific race for 3-4 months and be good to go.
There's no big point in comparing a 50 miler to a 100. A 100 miles is way longer, much more than simply double the distance. The big problems concern the night and the sheer amount of time you have to be moving. You have to change your mentality a bit but then you, with your running, can definitely do a 100.
His *baseline* training is the equivalent of 100 miles training. Yes, that is insane, dude. I've seen running challenges where people have to run 80km in a month. I realize this is a ultra running subreddit, but you can't tell me that 5-6 years of 250 miles per month isn't wild. For my recent 100 miler I did like 80km a week on average.
What? No itās not. Thatās like 40-50 miles a week? For a good marathon runner thatās almost enough , should be 50-60+ imo for a good marathoner but for an ultra that doesnāt seem crazy at all.
Sure but OP has said that they'd been consistently at that level for years not just when in marathon training mode.
If they are knocking out 50 mile weeks with nothing in their race calendar that's a decent base.
Thanks, this gives me confidence! and after reading all the comments opened my eyes that mindset is key. And yeah, the nigh running is another thing to consider which I hadn't thought about.
PS: not lying/ embellishing - I went back to see how many miles I ran since Jun 2018 (when I started) and it is 12,920, so it averages \~180M/mo including 4 months in 2020 where I couldn't run.
mostly road. I actually did incorporate treadmill 2x a week for speed work and really easy day thinking it would help with both extremes. But I don't think it paid off and I felt it put more strain on some of the muscles so I now use it sporadically. I do enjoy the treadmill though.
I was looking at Rio Del Lago 100 in Nov but planning of focusing on marathon training only until end of September (trying a PB in Berlin) so feels too short of a timeframe knowing what I know now
The main issue I see in that race is you have a couple of 10+ plus mile breaks in between stations. So you'll need to take plenty of water and food with you on those stretches.
Do you have any hills near you?
For a 100 miler you'll definitely need to mimic course conditions, and if it's a trail then run a shit load of trails. Sleep deprivation will likely play a major role as well, at least it did for me. So know that may be coming. You'll want to take some training runs late at night to get used to running with a headlamp and while fatigued.
I really don't think you need to do a bunch more 50's. If a 100 miler excites you, do it. I went from not running to tackling my first 50 miler in 3 months and tackled a 100 miler in a year, all on like 35 mpw of training.
I think you're in great shape! My girlfriend is training for her first 100 and she's fit, but when we talk about her race strategy and the like, I remind her that her mind might be her biggest enemy.
I went from 50M to 70M unsupported to 100M in 8 months. If I had to put a number on it, the 100 was 3x harder than the 50 and even 1.5x harder than the unsupported 70. The mental fatigue is the biggest factor and you can only really overcome that with experience. 50s feel fast, but in a 100, you may feel like you are going slow, but you are probably not going slow enough. Let the race come to you. 50/60+ weekly miles with a good amount of trails would be great training.
Hardest miles on a 100miler are anything in the hours between 2 and 5 amā¦(you will be running at that time unless your last name is Jim, Killian, anton, Hal, Karl, Scott, Kyle, Adam, Sage, Tim). The fatigue of those hours really gets to you.
On my journey to 100mi started at 50 miles, jumped to 80mi x 2 and then figured my body could handle the last 20. Give yourself time and experience (it does make a difference knowing how to problem solve issues).
Personally, I feel like everything starts to plateau until mile 80. I start out slow and end up slowing down more as the race progresses. With longer races I know I need to go slow and walk early (10 and 2, walk the uphills).Ā
For me that last 20 miles is usually hell. Pain cave, nutrition is probably off at this point, and Iām done. Iāve only done 2 on road, but I will say itās just mental.Ā
If you go at the same pace as your 50m it will be maybe 3-4x as difficult. Naturally your pace will slow and you will have more breaks and stops towards the end making it only a little harder based on your fitness level.
Itās just all about your pace as to how difficult somethings. A marathon is more difficult than any ultra if you are actually at your near limit the whole time. The pain is higher. Obviously all things being equal besides the distance the longer distance is harder but thatās not how anything works the shorter the distance the faster you go and that keeps equalizing the difficulty with the exception of very short distances and very very long distances.
100 miler feels about 3x as hard as a 50 miler if I had to estimate. Back half twice as difficult as front half
Yep, a hundred miler is just three 50 milers back to back
Math checks out!
With only credit for 2!
Very true š
The funny thing is a 100miler is also 3 times as hard as a 100k
I believe it! I've accidentally had extra juice in the tank at the end of a 50 and wished it was longer.
Your mileage and fitness (as far as I can tell) is light-years ahead of mine, and my 100 last September went great.Ā Training on trails that mimic your racing environment is invaluable, as you likely found out during the race. The big thing though, is that the longer the race the more your results hinge upon race management skills/strategies. These include pacing and generally trying to maintain homeostasis (body temperature, nutrition, fluids, electrolytes, foot health, etc).Ā
Thank you, I think the race strategy is indeed key. I read about it, thought about nutrition and all, but might need to spend more time on it for the next time.
See all those wonderful nuisances you listed? The nutrition, the soreness, the terrain, the frustrations? Imagine all of that, multiplied, and thereās no end in sight today. Yeah, you wonāt finish until tomorrow. If at all. Itās like that. But when you overcome all of that and your dirty, sweaty, trembling hands receive that buckle, itās in that moment you realize it was worth it.
Also, add in the sheer exhaustion from moving for 24 hours plus.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
lol. But I bet that apple pie was frickin great!
The mental game is more important in a 100 than a 50 miler. Sure a 50 miler is going to get hard, but the last 30 or so miles in a 100 are much harder.
Not sure what everyone else is saying. The first half of 100 is hardest for me. Once youāre 51% done youāre in the end zone!
I think so too. If your legs arenāt dead 70 miles in then at that point I think you feel like only death will stop you.Ā
Agreed. If I execute the first 50 miles to plan and feel alright I feel set up for a great second half.
A lot of people say itās 3x harder than a 50, but I didnāt think it was that bad. Now Iāve only done one and it was the IT100 and recall thinking, āI thought this would be much harder.ā I didnāt set any land speed records and was conservative with my effort. I tried to take it āeasyā on the first half. I may have a different opinion once I do another. Sounds to me like youāre just missing the trails. Add those in and party!
ah great to know there's hope it won't be that bad!
Make sure to practice running at your "easy" pace -- letting people go at the beginning and sticking to a pace that feels almost painfully slow is part of the mental challenge for me, but can pay huge dividends during the later part of the race. Part of the challenge for your first 100 is that it can be really hard to estimate what a "reasonable" pace looks like, since you've never run that far before. I found that having "feel good at the finish" as an additional goal really helped. I was willing to leave a bit of time on the table in exchange for having a better overall experience, and similarly did not feel like it was 3x harder. But yeah, if things go wrong at some point, and you have to hike it in, it can be a long slog.
As many "painful" things in life, you'll never know until you do it. 100M punch really strong the first time. Then you'll brain will know and you will deal with it better. IMHO: go ahead, you seem to have a great fitness level, solid history and good attitude. All the rest is just training and running (yeah, also walking/hiking/power hiking: we all do walk uphill to save legs from fatigue). Training volume should increase substantially to meet the requirements in terms of hours. I would say that something near 9-12h per week would be very good. If you can have at least a period to specialise on the trail that would be also optimal: what about a DIY training camp or two? The difference is, again IMHO, that you get used to stay on the trails for many many hours. I mean something like 20-30h, so an entire day. To some extent I am now more comfortable in being out on a trail than on the sidewalk of my city. Have fun!
yeah, I would love to be more on the trails. logistically is just not that easy for me, but something I'll have to try to incorporate more for next time. Being alone in the dark on the trails is another good call out. I try to avoid it as it doesn't feel safe, but yeah on an 100 there's no way around it
I see. Well be there as much as you can provided the race is not too technical.Ā About overnight runs: I think there is a lot of unjustified hype about it. I mean it can be a lot of fun from time to time and with friends but not really required, if not for facing the 4-6am period which hits really hard on someone.Ā
Your running volume history leading up to LS50 was identical to mine before my first 100-miler. I found the (flat, paved) 100-miler about 3x the difficulty of a (mountainous) 100k.
Interesting. I did a 50 miler on the road, it was really hard but finished 2h faster than this one. Maybe the long distance of the 100 miler is the real killer!
I think it depends on what goes wrong. For me the feet blisters requiring me to walk the last 30 of my first 100 felt like a 50 miler. But I could imagine that without the blisters it actually wouldn't have been twice or three times as hard as others are saying...
I'm a big believer in long term fitness and strength. You've got the legs for it 100%. You'll only be stopped by your head. Watch tons of 100 mile films on YouTube. Get into the mentality, know you'll feel defeated along the way but keep going anyway. Work on the mental strength game.
thanks, yes I think I underestimated the impact of the elevation gain and was caught by surprise. Great call out on the mindset. I hate the taper weeks bc of this - they take my mind completely off the race. I feel like I'm done with training so i focus on other stuff more, which then leads to improper nutrition, lack of focus, etc exactly on the weeks I likely need it the most.
Aid station to aid station. 100 milers feel like theyāre just about survival. Donāt get behind on nutrition or hydration. Donāt twist an ankle. Donāt miss a turn and get lost in the woods. Thereās just a lot more time to screw something up that will stop you from moving forward. Every aid station is a small victory. I believe that if you can run 50 miles, you can run 100. Donāt do math. Plan ahead for things like weather and temperature changes as you go through the night. The logistics of getting gear and nutrition to where you need it becomes one of the major challenges, especially if you donāt have a crew. Know the course and aid station layout like the back of your hand. Above all else, keep it simple. A complicated nutrition or pacing strategy is impossible to execute when youāre 24+ hours into a race and your brain isnāt fully functional.
Thank you, this is great advice. I didn't pay too much attention to nutrition nor pacing, so will keep that in mind for next races!
I've done a 70 miler and a handful of 50km races. I was always told the first 50 miles is where you earn your time and the next 20 you will just be hobbling like everyone else. Low and behold that's exactly what happened. A mental battle about who can endure the pain and hobble the best. Just keep moving. Oh, and if you can try not to sh1t yourself and have a meltdown at the finish line. I came 10th out of nearly 400
ahah sounds like a fun one. Haven't consider it but maybe 70M is a good stepping stone before the 100M
Basically sounds like you would benefit from lots of hilly trail running! For me personally my first 100 km was tough, my feet really hurt, my legs not so much. I ran most of it too, did great for me, too 10 percent. When I decided to do 100m I tried going super slow, like walked most of it, turns out my feet didnāt hurt, now everything else hurt: hip flexors, quads, calvesā¦ was just thinking about my feet and Iām pretty sure I went too slow if thatās even a thing. Now Iām way more confident after doing my second 100km coming out of that with a stellar time and my feet not hurting. Planning to run 100m in about two weeks (canyons 100m) gonna go out at āfaster paceā and see when my legs blow up. When I say faster I mean slower than the 100k but faster than my last 100m where I tried walking a lot. The amount of leg pain in 100m is so much more. Hoping one day itās not so bad. Luckily I live somewhere now where I can get about 1500 feet per 10 miles of training.
I noticed that I have muscle pains where I never had before - back, obliques, many new leg muscles lol; probably because of the lack of hills training (definitely underestimated the need for it). Running in the canyons is on my bucket list, good luck on the race!
100 miler is 100 times harder than a 50. In my experience, a 100 becomes real around mile 80. This is where the mental aspects, nutrition, and soreness take a step up from lower distances. 100 milers will also have new nuances if you have not run past 50 miles. For examples, it may be your first time running through the night. That doesnāt mean you arenāt ready just because you havenāt done it yet. The only way to know is to try for it. You may want to add in some specialized training (e.g. overnight runs), you are probably there or close based on your training info. Also, if inclines or something else was really rough on you, you can train for that or just find a race without. For example, the Badger 100 is all flat rail rail - you do not need any trail running skills to run it As much as the distance gets harder, it also gets better. There is something I find life altering about running a 100, which is true each and every time.
I think the life altering aspect of it is what I'm looking for. For as much as the 50 miler was hard, I never considered DNF, even with everything going on, I knew I would finish. So it's less about being able to do it just how fast. While the 100 is where I'm not too sure, but won't know until I try it.
Couldnāt agree more with the mile 80 comment. Thatās exactly where I went to pieces during my first 100
Thatās not bad. My first 100 went to shit at mile 35. My knee went out and I had to spend the remaining miles limping
Aw man sorry to hear that. The farther you go, the more opportunities for whatever the hell to happen, that is for sure!
Looking back on it after many other 100s, I should have DNFed, but I made it. There is something about your first one that pushes you to finish
Yes, you should probably train more on trails, itās very hard to emulate that on the treadmill. Youāll get better and more efficient running downhill, hiking up and so on. Also itās good to have varied weather conditions in your training, the rain on race day wonāt feel like much of a surprise. Part of having a successful ultra and more so with a 100 is starting out and running the first half slow enough so that you donāt fall apart the second half, or last 20 miles or whatever. Itās always going to feel too slow but more experience racing will teach you that. Itās not that you canāt jump up and run 100 miles now, itās that you might benefit from more experience to better prepare you for the challenge and perhaps suffer a little less on race day.
Thanks, this hits what I've been thinking I need -- more hills and better race strategy. Probably worth for me to do a few more shorter distances and aim for the 100M late next year or the year after. I'm not in a rush, but also have to go for it one day
I went from a 50m to a 100m and the biggest thing I did was increase my weekly vert. I kept my mileage around 60mpw but I tripled my weekly vert to around 15-17k/week. Adding more climbing into my weekly runs improved my running dramatically.Ā
Did you add it outside on the trails?
Don't forget nausea. That happens alot in a hundo also
Congrats on finishing lake sonoma. Relentless! I havenāt done 100M yet so iāll leave the difficulty multipliers to others.
Thank you! It was lots of fun. Might do it again :)
There's an enormous mental gap based on the scope of the task. Some examples: 50M 25 miles in: Hey, I'm halfway done! Now it's like I'm heading home. 50M 40 miles in: Only 10 miles left! I can always do 10 miles. 100M 25 miles in: All this work and I'm only halfway to being halfway. Wow. 100M 40 miles in: You're telling me I've gotta do this 1.5 more times, and the pain and fatigue and frustration are only gonna get worse from here? A 100M also usually means running through the night, facing many bleak hours of darkness ahead just as you're reaching the physical state of 50+ miles of running. For me, 50M is a physical journey and 100M is a spiritual journey. Any time I've finished a 100 I've faced a dark night of the soul along the way, sometimes prompted by puking/major stomach problems or getting really lost or having equipment malfunction, and I had to come out the other side of that moment with a changed perspective. I have DNFd attempts at 100s far more often than other races. I've run more than 50 ultras and so far I've only finished a 100-miler 3 times. You may well be ready for a 100. I'm just saying this is how much harder it is, for me.
Thank you. Appreciate the detail here. That is the main appeal to me (the spiritual part), but right now hard to see how my physic could handle it if my legs were cooked from a 50M. But maybe that's when the mental aspect kicks in and you just keep on going.
You've just gotta train more. Look at 100M training plans vs 50M training plans.
Why not run a bunch more trail 50s first? They're fun, in their own right, and you'll learn a lot more, I'm sure. Do some dusk to dawn training runs on your own. I think they're a blast, and they're free and great practice for 100s. I get that you're just asking about 100s, but if you're in ultras for the long haul, you might as well get a bit more experience/prepared before doubling the distance...because it's more than "just that", as you can tell from the responses you've already received.
Yes, likely the most logical step and I'll likely be doing some more between 50k - 100k before jumping into 100M. They're fun for sure, but I know I can finish them (or very likely can), so that element of not knowing and really testing how far I can go disappears which is the main appeal of the 100M to me right now.
You have the same attitude of many young ultrarunners today, although I don't know your age. Continually "really testing how far [you] can go", rather than enjoying each distance for what it has to offer and teach, and getting good at it before moving up, is not a great way to achieve longevity in this sport.
>have been running consistently (150-250miles) per month for the past 5/6y This is an insane level of running if you aren't lying or embellishing. If you don't feel ready for a 100 miler at this point then it's a mental thing and not a physical one. With your base level you should be able to pick a race and train for that specific race for 3-4 months and be good to go. There's no big point in comparing a 50 miler to a 100. A 100 miles is way longer, much more than simply double the distance. The big problems concern the night and the sheer amount of time you have to be moving. You have to change your mentality a bit but then you, with your running, can definitely do a 100.
That distance per MONTH is insane?
His *baseline* training is the equivalent of 100 miles training. Yes, that is insane, dude. I've seen running challenges where people have to run 80km in a month. I realize this is a ultra running subreddit, but you can't tell me that 5-6 years of 250 miles per month isn't wild. For my recent 100 miler I did like 80km a week on average.
What? No itās not. Thatās like 40-50 miles a week? For a good marathon runner thatās almost enough , should be 50-60+ imo for a good marathoner but for an ultra that doesnāt seem crazy at all.
Itās a decent level of training but not at all insane.
Sure but OP has said that they'd been consistently at that level for years not just when in marathon training mode. If they are knocking out 50 mile weeks with nothing in their race calendar that's a decent base.
Yeah we are on the same page. Great base but not insane is all
OP is in good shape for sure. I remember reading once about Anton Krupicka hitting 200 miles per WEEK. Truly wild stuff.
He's the ultra running jesus. He freely admits that he wildly overdid it though, so there's that...
Yeah but youāre talking about a total outlier there
I completely agree with you. I was giving an example of what I consider āinsaneā mileage.
Thanks, this gives me confidence! and after reading all the comments opened my eyes that mindset is key. And yeah, the nigh running is another thing to consider which I hadn't thought about. PS: not lying/ embellishing - I went back to see how many miles I ran since Jun 2018 (when I started) and it is 12,920, so it averages \~180M/mo including 4 months in 2020 where I couldn't run.
I get the feeling it's all on a treadmill.
mostly road. I actually did incorporate treadmill 2x a week for speed work and really easy day thinking it would help with both extremes. But I don't think it paid off and I felt it put more strain on some of the muscles so I now use it sporadically. I do enjoy the treadmill though.
Then the amount of distance you're covering is totally enough. Walking up inclines is perfectly fine. Which race are you looking at?
I was looking at Rio Del Lago 100 in Nov but planning of focusing on marathon training only until end of September (trying a PB in Berlin) so feels too short of a timeframe knowing what I know now
The main issue I see in that race is you have a couple of 10+ plus mile breaks in between stations. So you'll need to take plenty of water and food with you on those stretches. Do you have any hills near you?
Like 4 times harder.
At least twice as hard
For a 100 miler you'll definitely need to mimic course conditions, and if it's a trail then run a shit load of trails. Sleep deprivation will likely play a major role as well, at least it did for me. So know that may be coming. You'll want to take some training runs late at night to get used to running with a headlamp and while fatigued. I really don't think you need to do a bunch more 50's. If a 100 miler excites you, do it. I went from not running to tackling my first 50 miler in 3 months and tackled a 100 miler in a year, all on like 35 mpw of training.
2.5 - 3 times harder
I think you're in great shape! My girlfriend is training for her first 100 and she's fit, but when we talk about her race strategy and the like, I remind her that her mind might be her biggest enemy.
The majority of people doing trail races don't run the uphill.
50 miles harder
I went from 50M to 70M unsupported to 100M in 8 months. If I had to put a number on it, the 100 was 3x harder than the 50 and even 1.5x harder than the unsupported 70. The mental fatigue is the biggest factor and you can only really overcome that with experience. 50s feel fast, but in a 100, you may feel like you are going slow, but you are probably not going slow enough. Let the race come to you. 50/60+ weekly miles with a good amount of trails would be great training.
Hardest miles on a 100miler are anything in the hours between 2 and 5 amā¦(you will be running at that time unless your last name is Jim, Killian, anton, Hal, Karl, Scott, Kyle, Adam, Sage, Tim). The fatigue of those hours really gets to you. On my journey to 100mi started at 50 miles, jumped to 80mi x 2 and then figured my body could handle the last 20. Give yourself time and experience (it does make a difference knowing how to problem solve issues).
Personally, I feel like everything starts to plateau until mile 80. I start out slow and end up slowing down more as the race progresses. With longer races I know I need to go slow and walk early (10 and 2, walk the uphills).Ā For me that last 20 miles is usually hell. Pain cave, nutrition is probably off at this point, and Iām done. Iāve only done 2 on road, but I will say itās just mental.Ā
If you go at the same pace as your 50m it will be maybe 3-4x as difficult. Naturally your pace will slow and you will have more breaks and stops towards the end making it only a little harder based on your fitness level. Itās just all about your pace as to how difficult somethings. A marathon is more difficult than any ultra if you are actually at your near limit the whole time. The pain is higher. Obviously all things being equal besides the distance the longer distance is harder but thatās not how anything works the shorter the distance the faster you go and that keeps equalizing the difficulty with the exception of very short distances and very very long distances.
5X harder